Catherine Purcell, dutiful daughter-in-law, agrees to remarry to save her dead husband's family from financial ruin. She doesn't mind, she really doesn't, but she's desperate for one last adventure before she enters another arranged marriage that will take what remains of her youth. Her Russian grandmother's court dress gives her the means.

When a beautiful Russian countess catches Lord Robert Carlisle's interest, she ignites a spark he'd thought long dead. Her full lips and soft skin tempt him. She needs a respectable husband. He won't marry, but perhaps she can tempt him out of the darkness that has ruled his life since he shot his brother in a robbery gone wrong.